Bath County, Virginia
| Bath County, Virginia | |
 Location in the state of Virginia |
|
 Virginia's location in the U.S. |
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| Founded | 1790 |
|---|---|
| Named for | Bath, England |
| Seat | Warm Springs |
| Area - Total - Land - Water |
535 sq mi (1,386 km²) 532 sq mi (1,378 km²) 3 sq mi (8 km²), 0.51% |
| PopulationEst. - (2010) - Density |
4,731 10/sq mi (4/km²) |
| Website | www.bathcountyva.org |
Bath County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. In 2010, Bath County's population was estimated to be 4,731 residents.[1] Its county seat is Warm Springs.[2] It is home to the Bath County Pumped Storage Station, a pumped storage hydroelectric power plant. The Homestead, a luxury mountain resort in Hot Springs, is the county's major employer.[3] The resort grew around the area's natural hot mineral springs, such as the Jefferson Pools.
The county is represented in the Virginia General Assembly by Senator Creigh Deeds and Delegate Ben Cline.
The American educator C. E. Byrd was born in Bath County in 1859.
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History [edit]
Bath County was established on December 14, 1790 from Augusta, Botetourt and Greenbrier counties. The county is named for the English resort city of Bath. Bath County comprises a number of villages including Hot Springs, Warm Springs, Millboro and Mountain Grove. Hot Springs and Warm Springs are the most well known of the villages. Each has healing springs that have attracted visitors since the 1700s. Located along the western central border with West Virginia, Bath County encompasses 540 square miles (1,400 km2). 89% of Bath County is national forest; 6% is state park. The Nature Conservancy owns more than 9,000 acres (36 km2) of critical forest habitat. Bath County is one of the few counties in Virginia without a traffic signal. (Charlotte County & Mathews County are the others.)
Education [edit]
The county has two elementary schools (Pre-Kindergarten to 7th grade) and one high school (8th grade to 12th grade). The school system has about 650 students in total and struggles due to the falling (and aging) population.[4]
Geography [edit]
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 535 square miles (1,385.6 km2), of which 532 square miles (1,377.9 km2) is land and 3 square miles (7.8 km2) (0.51%) is water.
Adjacent Counties [edit]
- Highland County – north
- Augusta County – northeast
- Rockbridge County – east
- Alleghany County – south
- Greenbrier County, West Virginia – southwest
- Pocahontas County, West Virginia – west
National protected areas [edit]
Major highways [edit]
Demographics [edit]
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1800 | 5,508 |
|
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| 1810 | 4,837 | −12.2% | |
| 1820 | 5,237 | 8.3% | |
| 1830 | 4,002 | −23.6% | |
| 1840 | 4,300 | 7.4% | |
| 1850 | 3,486 | −18.9% | |
| 1860 | 3,676 | 5.5% | |
| 1870 | 3,795 | 3.2% | |
| 1880 | 4,482 | 18.1% | |
| 1890 | 4,587 | 2.3% | |
| 1900 | 5,595 | 22.0% | |
| 1910 | 6,538 | 16.9% | |
| 1920 | 6,389 | −2.3% | |
| 1930 | 8,137 | 27.4% | |
| 1940 | 7,191 | −11.6% | |
| 1950 | 6,296 | −12.4% | |
| 1960 | 5,335 | −15.3% | |
| 1970 | 5,192 | −2.7% | |
| 1980 | 5,860 | 12.9% | |
| 1990 | 4,799 | −18.1% | |
| 2000 | 5,048 | 5.2% | |
| 2010 | 4,731 | −6.3% | |
| Est. 2012 | 4,773 | 0.9% | |
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2012 Estimate |
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As of the census[5] of 2000, there were 5,048 people, 2,053 households, and 1,451 families residing in the county. The population density was 10 people per square mile (4/km²). There were 2,896 housing units at an average density of 5 per square mile (2/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 92.29% White, 6.28% Black or African American, 0.22% Native American, 0.38% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.10% from other races, and 0.67% from two or more races. 0.36% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 2,053 households out of which 28.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.60% were married couples living together, 7.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.30% were non-families. 26.30% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.80.
In the county, the population was spread out with 21.00% under the age of 18, 5.50% from 18 to 24, 28.20% from 25 to 44, 28.50% from 45 to 64, and 16.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 100.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.20 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $35,013, and the median income for a family was $41,276. Males had a median income of $30,238 versus $21,974 for females. The per capita income for the county was $23,092. 7.80% of the population and 5.80% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 5.40% are under the age of 18 and 12.90% are 65 or older.
Politics [edit]
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Towns [edit]
Unincorporated communities [edit]
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ [1]. Weldon Cooper Center 2010 Census Count Retrieved September 8, 2011
- ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
- ^ Mitchell, Lynn R. (23 April 2012). "Three years later … where is the Homestead Resort murderer?". Bearing Drift. Retrieved 10 July 2012.
- ^ Bath County Schools. "School Menu". Retrieved 10 July 2012.
- ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
External links [edit]
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Highland County | Augusta County | |
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| Pocahontas County, West Virginia |  |
Rockbridge County | ||
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| Greenbrier County, West Virginia | Alleghany County |
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